Medford Courses   

Using research-backed strategies, the AARP Smart Driver course has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of accidents, help you become more proficient in the current rules of the road, improve your defensive driving techniques and help with safe vehicle operation amid today’s more demanding driving environment. This course, crafted for drivers age 50 and older, will focus on the vital relationship between the driver, vehicle and road and look at how factors such as aging, medications or alcohol can impact driving. You’ll gain insights into safe driving practices while sharing the road and learn about the latest vehicle safety features and technological advancements. Maybe most important, you’ll identify when it’s no longer safe to drive and how to find alternative travel options. This course may qualify you for a multiyear discount on your auto insurance while helping you confidently maintain your independence and safety on the road.

NOTE: A required materials fee of $20 to $25 (discount for AARP members) includes a comprehensive 120-page participant guide to bolster learning and reinforce key concepts.

Playing the harmonica can bring joy to you, to other musicians with whom you play and to those who enjoy listening to music. In class, we’ll listen to recordings to become familiar with the typical chord progressions one hears when listening to the blues. Then we’ll improvise harmonica “riffs” (strings of notes that sound good) that complement them. We will let our ears guide us, playing the notes that our hearts and gut-sense tell us sound right. We will not be reading music or expecting to play a given song in exactly the same way twice. As with any skill, it takes practice to be a good harmonica player, so you will be expected to practice on your own between classes. The instructor will direct you to recordings and online resources that provide background music with which to practice. Having access to a CD player, the internet and a computer with speakers will be essential.  

NOTED: A $15 fee is due at the first class meeting for materials. The instructor will provide each student with two Blues Band harmonicas in different keys, printed materials and audio recordings (on CD). Each class session builds on the one before, so it is important that students attend all sessions. Students who know they will miss a class are asked to take the class during another term.  

This introductory course, taught by four instructors at the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, is designed to give a solid foundation for pursuing genealogy. Anne Billeter will present how to conduct research online and in libraries with a library tour. Rich Miles will present separate classes on how to effectively use Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org to research family and ancestors. Both classes will use a computer lab. Barbara Northrop will present separate classes on organization with a help session and on the U.S. census in the computer lab. Kim Thurman will present how to effectively use newspapers to research family in the computer lab. There will be two assignments: filling out an ancestor chart for personal use and preregistering for a free FamilySearch.org account online. Help will be available. Instruction will be 1½ hours, followed by a one-hour help session or computer lab. Although it’s not mandatory, we encourage students to bring their personal laptops. 
 
NOTE: This course will be taught at the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Library, 3405 S. Pacific Highway, Medford. Students need to preregister for a FamilySearch account prior to Class 4. There is no class session on Friday, April 18.

Microsoft Word is a powerful word processing program, but most beginning users are either not familiar with or reluctant to use Word’s wide range of features. This is a hands-on class. The instructor will provide pre-typed documents, and students will provide their own laptops, curiosity and questions. Students will learn basic tips for inputting, formatting and editing Word documents. Some of the topics covered include shortcut keys, navigating the ribbons and dialog boxes, formatting paragraphs and adjusting layouts, creating and manipulating tables and using the quick access toolbar and features for editing and tracking changes. The pace of the class will be determined by the students. Students should know how to download, open and save their documents. They should be familiar with their own laptops and aware of where their documents are located/saved. Review exercises will be emailed after each class to practice what was learned in class. 

NOTE: This class is based on Microsoft Word for PCs. Students will need to bring in their laptops preloaded with the documents they have downloaded from my emails and saved in a familiar location for easy retrieval. 

This course will be an introduction to astronomy, specifically observational astronomy. Students will learn how to look in the night sky without a telescope to see constellations, identify planets and discern lunar phases. This class will specifically focus on our Southern Oregon skies in spring. Students will get a chance to practice their knowledge by observing in the North Medford High School Planetarium. Our planetarium features a Digistar 7 system, a fully digital system capable of manipulating space and time with real-time data and stellar computer graphics. The course will be half online lecture, half lab-based in the planetarium, and will offer optional night sky practice at our Southern Oregon Sky Watchers viewing location high in the hills of Ashland. There is no background knowledge necessary; all levels of learners are welcome.

NOTE: The course will alternate between online instruction using Zoom one week followed by lab-based practice of concepts at the North Medford High School Planetarium the next week. Weeks 1, 3 and 5 will be online and weeks 2, 4 and 6 will be at the planetarium. Students participating in optional field trips will need to sign a liability waiver.